THE midsummer month had it all in the weather department in Coventry. June started off cool, had one VERY wet day, and finally flamed.

Saturday, June 16, stormed into the record books with the heaviest 24-hour rainfall since records began in Coventry.

More than half of the average rainfall for the whole of June ? 42.2mm ? fell on the city centre in a single day. It was the most for June since records were first kept in 1892.

Thunderstorms soaked the city between Thursday, June 14, and Saturday, June 16.

During those three days, experts at Bablake Weather Centre in Coundon Road recorded 82.2mm, or 85 per cent of the average rainfall expected in June.

Steve Jackson, head of Bablake Weather Station, said of the June 16 soaker: ?We get this amount of rain in a single day about once every five years. The last time was in August, 1999, when we recorded 61mm during a summer thunderstorm.?

June gave way to the year?s hottest spell, with the first days of July bringing sweltering sunshine this week and temperatures in Coventry into the 80s. But a weekend of showers looms.

The risk of thunderstorms is likely to increase today, with outbreaks becoming more widespread. Tomor- row and Sunday are likely to be cooler, with a maximum of 22C (71F) predicted.